In February, members of Chicago’s upper crust were invited to visit the sleeping quarters of one of the least successful painters in the history of art. Some were even granted the opportunity to spend a night there. For “Van Gogh’s Bedrooms,” now showing through May 10 at the Art Institute, the museum partnered with Airbnb to offer visitors the chance to rent an actual re-creation of the famous painting Bedroom in Arles (1888) in an apartment in River North for a night. “Van Gogh’s Bedrooms” attempts to take the museumgoer inside an artist’s experience, but this seems a bit extreme. What next? Will the Art Institute contract a body-modification studio to sever a die-hard fan’s ear? At this point, I wouldn’t be taken aback. But would many of us have chosen to live the kind of life Vincent van Gogh led if we were given the chance?
Painting students confront van Gogh’s legend early on. When I was studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 90s, there was an older classmate who stalked the hallways in a paint-spattered smock, cursing painting under his breath. There was a slight superficial likeness, but it wasn’t his looks that made many call him van Gogh behind his back—it was the caricature he embodied, a symbol of single-minded obsession. The fact that a man who only managed to sell one painting during his life is now as reliable a cash cow as the art world has got is of little comfort to those of us who still toil with brush and paint. A little worldly success goes a lot further than any promise of immortality to the person doing the actual work. How much longer would van Gogh have wanted to live if he’d just sold a few more paintings?
Through 5/10 Art Institute of Chicago 111 S. Michigan 312-443-3600artinstituteofchicago.org $15, $5 with museum admission: $25, $19 students, seniors ($5 discount for Chicago residents), free kids under 14; free for Illinois residents Thursdays 5-8 PM.
